2010–2012: Family life and psychological strain
Safechuck has described increasing distress, particularly after becoming a parent. His later pleadings and interviews say that fatherhood altered his understanding of what had happened and intensified concern about childhood safety.
May 2013: Wade Robson’s public disclosure
Safechuck says seeing Robson discuss allegations against Jackson was a major catalyst. He began to reconsider his own experiences and eventually disclosed to family members and sought legal advice. Defence lawyers argue that Robson’s claim supplied a model and legal pathway; Safechuck argues that it broke through years of denial.
2014
May 09 : James Safechuck files a lawsuit against Michael Jackson’s estate, alleging that Jackson had sexually abused him over a four-year period beginning when Safechuck was ten years old. Safechuck claimed that the abuse started after he met Jackson during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in 1986. He alleged that Jackson groomed him with gifts and attention, leading to incidents of sexual abuse during the singer’s 1988 “Bad” tour. The lawsuit contended that Jackson’s companies, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, facilitated the alleged abuse by creating an environment that allowed it to occur.
May 12 : The latest sexual assault complaint, filed in court last Friday, remains sealed, but two sources close to the case revealed that the man involved is James Safechuck, who appeared in a Pepsi ad featuring Jackson in 1987 and proceeded to have a close association with the singer for several years. Safechuck has always denied that Jackson had molested him. Safechuck added his name to a suit originally filed by Wade Robson in May 2013. Robson, an Australian who is now 31, testified in Jackson’s defense at the singer’s 2005 trial, where the pop icon was found not guilty of child molestation and other charges. But later, Robson changed his mind. Last year, he alleged in a civil suit against Jackson’s estate that the singer had forced him to perform sex acts. Both Robson, who was once a top Hollywood choreographer, and Safechuck, 36, are represented by the L.A. law firm of Gradstein & Marzano. Partners in that firm declined to comment on their latest filing.
2014–2015: Pleading amendments and probate litigation
Safechuck amended his allegations to describe corporate recruitment, employment, travel, gifts, secrecy and alleged facilitation. The Estate and companies challenged timeliness, knowledge, duty, causation and the legal sufficiency of the claims.
2017
The parties litigated document production and depositions involving former employees and other witnesses. Safechuck’s Third Amended Complaint was filed in February 2017. It alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, negligent supervision, breach of fiduciary duty and related theories.
June : Claims dismissed under the former limitations regime
The trial court rejected Safechuck’s effort to proceed against the Estate and dismissed the corporate claims as untimely under the law then in force. The court did not conduct a trial on whether the abuse allegations were true.
Jackson Dynasty 